'Dallas' Actor Larry Hagman Dead at 81

11/24/2012, 1:25 p.m.

Larry Hagman, who played the iconic role of J.R. Ewing on the popular, long-running TV series, "Dallas," has died following a battle with cancer. He was 81 years old.

Hagman's role as the wealthy, amoral J.R. Ewing defined the pop culture landscape of the 1980s. With more than 350 million people tuning in on Nov. 21, 1980 to find out, "Who shot J.R?" the episode remains the defining question of a generation.

As Hagman wrote in his memoir, "Hello Darlin'," "Ronald Reagan was campaigning against Jimmy Carter, American hostages were being held in Iran, Polish shipyard workers were on strike, and all anyone wanted to know was, who shot J.R.?"